FAA may crack down on noisy helicopters after residents complain

Federal regulators and flight officials may soon crack down on noisy, annoying helicopters that hover over Los Angeles, carrying media, sightseers and other curiosity seekers.

Several hundred residents from throughout Los Angeles County attended a public hearing in Sherman Oaks on Monday night and demanded that Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration do something about the annoying helicopter flights over their neighborhoods.

For more than two hours, residents from the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Brentwood, the San Fernando Valley and other communities complained to Rep.Howard L. Berman(D-Valley Village) and two top-ranking FAA officials, including William C. Withycombe, the regional administrator for four Western states, including California.

"My promise to you is that we will follow up on this," Withycombe told the audience. "I can't promise I will solve this overnight. But I will try to solve as many of the problems as I can."